Designers and coders rarely get along, especially in today’s digital agencies. When they do, they make beautiful websites together. When they don’t, the end product is clunky and full of glitches. (Graphic) designers are responsible for User Experience (UX) while developers work on User Interface (UI). Think about any web page, or glance at the home screen on your phone. It’s probably full of icons that represent your favourite apps. The way they look, their pretty colours, and even their positioning on your phone … those are all elements of UX. When you click on the icons and they open an app, that’s UI. In this sense, UX is the appearance, the visual elements. UI is the back-end functionality, tools, and features.
Where UX and UI clash
Graphic designers have an artistic eye. They know what will appeal to your tastes, so they can draft appealing websites. However, when they’re crafting images, they don’t always think about whether it will work. They might – for example – design a dancing banner for the home page, and sell it to the client. But if they don’t check in with developers, there could be a problem. That banner-dancing code might not exist. And if the UX designer tries to force it, the site could scramble and crash, costing time, money, and data. Some examples of unsuccessful UI and UX could include:
- A lack of colour and contrast
- Non-responsive design
- Bad information architect and disorganised structure
When it works, it works!
Ideally, UI and UX should be built in tandem. But what usually happens is the designer makes a pretty UX and the developer has to find a way to activate it. When the two elements don’t synchronise, then your site or app doesn’t work as it should. For example, a page that’s too heavy in terms of graphics will load slowly, because its foundation code can’t support it. If the two collaborate, the developer can speed up page processing while the designer can lighten the visual elements. So if you want a beautiful, optimal, functional product, work with a team whose UI and UX experts are a cohesive unit. A team like Studio Licious.
To improve both your UX and your UI, contact Studio Licious today.
